[Review] Jurassic World
Many people expected Jurassic World to be a hit, though few would have predicted quite how big a hit it would turn out to be. In retrospect, it's easy to appreciate how complete the movie's formula actually is: dinosaurs will always be a major draw for children, especially when fighting other dinosaurs, while older viewers have the strong nostalgia factor of Steven Spielberg's 1993 adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel, Jurassic Park, to lure them in. Throw in one of Hollywood's fastest rising stars in the shape of Chris Pratt, and suddenly that record-breaking take doesn't seem quite so surprising.
Despite its big reputation, the original Jurassic Park never won me over as completely as those whose nostalgia is among the many reasons World is on its way to global domination. There's no question that Park was an extraordinary cinematic event, one of the few movies of the past thirty years to inspire a genuine sense of awe in its viewers, but whether it coheres as a great film in its entirety, rather than a handful of magnificent scenes and a cast which happened to be a perfect fit for the material and each other, is up for debate. Regardless, the moments when it really delivered are rightly celebrated among the finest moments of Spielberg's glittering career and few can deny its importance as a cultural phenomenon of its time. For all its astounding financial success, Jurassic World seems unlikely to be held in such high regard in twenty years' time.
[youtube id="RFinNxS5KN4"]
Jurassic World
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: June 12th, 2015
That's not to suggest Jurassic World is a bad movie per se, but one which is best taken with strongly tempered expectations. It delivers all the dinosaur-on-dinosaur action that viewers will be expecting and is certainly the best of the three Jurassic Park sequels, though that's faint praise if ever there were such a thing. It's a movie which feels acutely aware of the likelihood that a strong percentage of its audience will be children and subsequently inhabits that PG-13 middle ground where no matter how great the carnage depicted on-screen, everything remains strangely and distractingly bloodless.
One of the most uncomfortable examples of this is a prolonged, grossly misjudged death of one of the supporting characters, who for a good thirty seconds is thrown through a procession of increasingly nasty torments before finally being put out of their misery, all without a single drop of blood being spilt. There are many reasons to object to this scene in particular, not least its discomforting delight at inflicting extended cruelty on a character who seems to be being punished for nothing more than absent-mindedness, but the movie's refusal to show the consequences of its depicted actions even while pushing so far into unpleasantness makes for an uncomfortable disconnect from reality and a sense of weightlessness which permates the rest of the movie.
Taken strictly on the level of spectacle, the movie hits its marks comfortably. Director Colin Trevorrow emphasizes the wonder and scale of the park, which has been rebuilt and reopened on the same island as the original in one of countless nods. The iconic John Williams score - is there any other kind? - is put to full, thrilling use and for a moment, Jurassic World recalls that feeling of awe which rooted the original so firmly in the collective cultural memory. It's when the movie has to get down to the nitty gritty of telling an actual story, with logic and characters and other such troublesome distractions, that it starts to go off the rails. Chris Pratt may be an immediately charming presence, but doesn't have the idiosyncratic charisma of a Jeff Goldblum, the gravitas of a Richard Attenborough, or the everyman authority of a Sam Neill. He's hamstrung by material which forces him to recite a series of leaden gags in lieu of developing an actual character, while his repeated assertions of manliness come off as juvenile posturing.
Speaking of which, the movie's antiquated representation of gender has been the subject of criticism ever since the first clip from the movie was released. Unfortunately, far from being taken out of context, as Trevorrow suggested, the female roles are arguably even more retrograde than first imagined. This doesn't appear to be down to anything more malicious than the same clichéd writing which also wedges a needless and shorthand-y divorce subplot between the two young brothers acting as audience surrogates in the first act, but even writing as someone who is generally reluctant to apply outside politics to any form of storytelling, World's female characters are punished and diminished in the presence of the male characters, themselves exclusively drawn from stereotypical masculine archetypes. Dallas Howard's Claire isn't much more than a stiff for Chris Pratt's self-identified 'alpha' to wear down, and the one time she asserts herself, it's to tell a nerdy male character to 'be a man and do something'. Meanwhile, Vincent D'Onofrio's Vic is so outwardly villainous and one-note that the only surprise is him not getting a chance to do his own Dr. Evil laugh. Oh, and did I mention that the person subject to the prolonged death described earlier was a working woman? Read into that as much or as little as you will.
Fortunately, the action is strong enough to offset the tedious emptiness of the movie's human characters. The absence of one well-developed character does rob the movie of any tension, with the bloodlessness only adding to the impression they're no more real than the CGI creations swirling around them, but that innate dinosaur appeal is a powerful thing indeed. Despite the movie's snarky in-jokes about audiences becoming increasingly blasé in their demands for bigger and better, there's still a childlike joy in watching raptors on the hunt, pterodactyls in mid-flight, or the lumbering beauty of a diplodocus grazing peacefully in a verdant savannah. The movie's respect for its creatures and concern over humans' treatment and commodification of animals, makes for one of its few poignant thematic successes, even if it all goes a bit wrong when it starts fully anthropomorphising them for the sake of a staggeringly stupid final act: this is a very dumb movie for the most part, even in a series where plot holes are a longstanding tradition, but the climax really takes the cake in throwing all semblance of reality and logical behaviour to the wind.
Jurassic World's faults are those that might be expected from a movie which has emerged from over a decade in development hell. It seems to be trying to tell three stories at once, of which only the spectacle truly delivers. The original sketched its characters just delicately enough to allow its magnetic cast to do the rest. World overburdens its characters with contrived histories delivered through hilariously inane anecdotes which just so happen to offer inspirational messages perfectly suited to each moment of peril ('Remember when we went on that date?'/'Remember when I had that dog?'/'Remember when...' [and I'm not even joking here] '...we saw that ghost?'). It delivers well enough on its core requirements as a summer blockbuster tentpole that few will come out feeling as though they haven't basically seen the dinosaur extravaganza they were promised, but the constant nods back to Jurassic Park only serve as a reminder of how much better rounded that movie was in the small details which gave its action meaning and heft and connection. Like World, Park for the most part worked better in individual scenes than as a complete picture, but it's those details which made Park's scenes so jaw-dropping and are conspicuously absent here. Financial success makes a fourth sequel an inevitability, but when Jurassic Galaxy rolls around in a few years' time, let's hope it remembers to bring back the soul so missing in World's impressive but hollow spectacle.
Jurassic World Breaks World Record with $511m Debut
In a completely surprising (though not undeserving) turn of events, Jurassic World broke world records with its $511m worldwide box office debut this past weekend. While the film's domestic debut at $204.6m is the second-highest debut of all-time (the distinction belongs to The Avengers' $207.4m debut in 2012), its international gross of $307.2m helped bring it over the threshold. Its debut eclipsed the previous record holder, 2011's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 and its $483.2m debut.
Furthermore, Jurassic World shattered its own studio's expectations, which were set conservatively low at $125m. The film's reported budget is roughly $150m, meaning the $511m Jurassic World grossed is nearly 350% its budget, which is typically unheard of in Hollywood, especially for such a large film franchise like Jurassic Park. Jurassic World's success also cements Chris Pratt's status as a bonafide Hollywood star.
Jurassic World's theatrical run won't end any time soon, and with the hype and acclaim it's been receiving will result in more ticket sales. At this point, it has quite a ways to surpass Hollywood's two highest-grossing films, 2009's Avatar (nearly $2.8b) and 1997's Titanic (nearly $2.2b). However, it certainly has a shot.
[via The Independent]
[Playlist of the Week] 5 Songs About Dinosaurs
Oddly enough, there are more songs about dinosaurs than you’d expect (we expected zero). In preparation for the upcoming blockbuster hit of the summer, Jurassic World, we’ve compiled a short list of five songs related to dinosaurs. We definitely ran the spectrum of genres to compile our list. Of course, we definitely left some off. If you have a favorite dinosaur-related song we missed, let us know!
Jurassic World Almost Featured Human/Dinosaur Hybrids
As excited as I am about the upcoming Jurassic World (as evidenced by yesterday's trailer release), I can't help but think that the plot is somewhat reminiscent of B-movie concepts, such as the creation of a genetically-modified dinosaur hybrid with features from a multitude of dinosaurs. Sure, it's an amazing concept and something I'm more than thrilled to see on the big screen, but it's the type of fodder and concept we'd see from (admittedly awesome) cheesy low-budget knock-off films.
Apparently, the first pitch for the film was similar to the final idea of dinosaur hybrids, but rather than combining various dinosaurs to create a mega dinosaur, the story involved creating human/dinosaur hybrids. Concept art reflecting this idea was recently released that are somewhat reminiscent of the early '90s influx of human/animal mutant characters (Battletoads, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Street Sharks, etc.), and it's a bit silly to see them pop up again more than twenty years later. Art and fads are cyclical, right?
We should just be happy knowing the upcoming Jurassic World will be going down a slightly less ridiculous idea, but don't be surprised if any potential sequel (Jurassic Universe, perhaps?) features these human hybrids.
[via Imgur]
[Trailer] Jurassic World
[youtube id="RFinNxS5KN4"]
Despite a countdown that implied the first official trailer for Jurassic World would premiere later this week, Universal has gone ahead and released our first look at the highly-anticipated Jurassic Park sequel. Starring one of this year's biggest stars, Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy, Parks and Recreation), Jurassic World returns to Jurassic Park, a park where dinosaurs were revived thanks to genetic engineering. With sales and attendance declining, the park's scientists attempt to boost visibility by combining the genes of multiple dinosaurs to create a Frankenstein-esque dinosaur hybrid. However, when it escapes and is let loose in the park, it poses a huge danger for both the park's staff and attendees.
This first trailer does enough to introduce the film's plot and main conflict, but also highlights just how far we've come with CGI since Jurassic Park III's release in 2001. There are some armchair logistical questions, like how the park is still open after all of events that took place in the previous three films, but I'm sure all of this will be addressed within the context of the film. Then again, I'm just nitpicking and trying to contain my excitement over dinosaurs returning to the big screen and becoming cool again.
Jurassic World will be in theaters on June 12, 2015.
Jurassic World Might Spawn Two Sequels
Production on Jurassic World, the newest entry in the famed Jurassic Park series, has been well underway for awhile now. While the studios behind the film (Amberlin Entertainment, Legendary Pictures, and Universal Pictures) are confident in the film, they're also cautious about planning an entirely new trilogy around the film. Still, the prospect of creating film sequels in Hollywood is much more likely in modern times than they were back when the original Jurassic Park was released in in 1993.
Director Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed) recently spoke to Empire and shared his views on any potential sequels to his film:
"We definitely talked about [sequels] a lot,” the director/co-writer revealed. “We wanted to create something that would be a little bit less arbitrary and episodic, and something that could potentially arc into a series that would feel like a complete story."
Trevorrow goes into further details, such as possibly hinting at who would appear in the aforementioned sequels. We already know that the film will star Chris Pratt in a lead role alongside Bryce Dallas Howard with Jake Johnson also appearing. The director also confirmed the use of animatronic dinosaurs, which will help create a more believable scare than any CGI dinosaur would.
Are you excited for more Jurassic Park/World films? As somebody who's very cynical about Hollywood films milking preexisting franchises, I'm all on board for more dinosaur action. We'll have more on Jurassic World and any future sequels as more information becomes available.
Film To Be Used For Jurassic World Production
Colin Trevorrow will be defying the laws of modern filmmaking by taking a leap to the Jurassic times himself. The director announced that his new film, Jurassic World, will be captured on film, with a portion of it being shot on large 65mm film stock. John Schwartzman will be the cinematographer of the long anticipated Jurassic Park production.
The film is expected to begin shooting in New Orleans on June 2nd for 11 weeks. However, the crew will be spending six weeks in Hawaii before this, which will be split by four weeks in Oahu and two weeks in Kauai.
The film is set to be released on June 12, 2015.
Bryce Dallas Howard to explore Jurassic World
Bryce Dallas Howard (50/50) will officially be chased by dinosaurs in the upcoming Jurassic World alongside Ty Simpkins (Insidious). The actress confirmed with the USA Today this morning that she has joined the Colin Trevorrow-directed, Derek Connolly-written sequel. Again, there are no plot details, but it's good to see the cast filling out nicely. Howard should serve as a great feminine presence to the film that wouldn't be relegated to the "girl in need of help" trope. Also rumored is Jason Schwartzman's (The Royal Tenenbaums) involvement with the film. His name is mixed in with the other rumored actors including Josh Brolin (Old Boy), Jake Johnson (Safety Not Guaranteed), and Nick Robinson (The Kings of Summer). Nothing would excite me more than seeing Schwartzman get eaten by a T-Rex.
[via Collider]